A CRUCIAL vote on a controversial bid to turn Minehead's Beach Hotel into a complex of retail and residential units may have been flawed, it was claimed this week. West Somerset Council's planning committee refused the scheme put forward by Alan Kanerick of development company Minehead Renaissance by five votes to six - a decision which will lead to an appeal being lodged. But onlookers, including one committee member, Cllr Bryan Leaker, believe the vote by the 12 councillors present could have been six-all. The confusion appears to surround the vote of committee chairman Cllr Viv Brewer, who confirmed this week he had backed the recommendation by planning officers to approve the application. But some of those present at the meeting just a few days before Christmas believe the 'show of hands' was taken twice, with Cllr Brewer voting the first time but possibly not when the vote was 'checked'. A six-all split decision would have left Cllr Brewer with the casting vote, which in all probability would have resulted in the application being approved. Cllr Brewer told the Free Press that there had only been one show of hands and the five-six vote was correct, with the application "standing refused". He said he did not know who out of the 12 councillors at the meeting had not voted. But Cllr Leaker, a former chairman of the planning committee, said he had been to see the council's chief executive Tim Howes with Cllr Brewer after the meeting to ask for clarification of the count. "I am concerned about it," said Cllr Leaker, who also voted in favour of the application. "If we made a mistake common sense should prevail. I know who voted in favour. "I think it is wrong but we are being told that the decision has been made and the application will have to go to appeal, which could cost this authority thousands of pounds." Cllr Leaker said that in addition to his and Cllr Brewer's votes in favour of the scheme, it was also supported by Cllrs Fred Rawle, Jamie Anderson, Tony Knight and Ann Foxhuntley. And he said those opposing it were Cllr Peter Humber, Roger Webber, Eddie May, Keith Parkes and Angela Palmer. His view was backed by Rod Price, the chief executive of the Richards Hotel Group, which owns the Beach. "I was present at the meeting and I saw six people vote in favour and six against," said Mr Price. "I made a note of who voted for and who against. I think the council should accept that a mistake was made - if it does not, it is morally bankrupt." However, council spokesman Stacey Beaumont said: "Constitutionally, once the chairman of a meeting has declared the vote, the decision has been made. "The decision in this instance therefore stands as declared by the chairman." The refusal was based on: l The failure to provide sufficient information on ways to address the potential conflict between the various vehicles servicing the site. l The failure to adequately assess the potential impact of the loss of the building as a hotel and the introduction of a take-away outlet on the surrounding tourism area. l The failure to maximise the potential number of residential units to ensure some level of affordable housing was provided within the scheme. Mr Kanerick, who previously told the Free Press he was perplexed by the reasons, said this week that in addition to lodging an appeal he would probably be submitting a new application which would provide all the information the committee appeared to require. "It will be the original scheme but together with all the bits from the county highways and the county conservationists to meet any concerns and resolve the outstanding issues" Mr Kanerick has already disputed the validity of the reasons and said the advice given by the council's legal representative to the committee, coupled with the questionmark over the vote, had raised a number of issues. "It would be fair to say that my legal team is currently considering all sorts of avenues, including the possibility of seeking a judicial review."